Acknowledging a quiet achiever

Having experienced a rough time finding his identity growing up, Warrnambool-based Lowell Hunter now spends much of his time providing leadership to other young Indigenous people. He's this year's Ricci Marks Young Aboriginal Achiever award winner.

The humble 25-year-old was overwhelmed when he found out he'd won the award.

"To hear my name, I just got a bit of a shock and all emotions come together and it's just a great feeling and just great to be recognised for the work that I do."

Mr Hunter was a mentor with Victoria Police but he's recently been appointed to a different youth advocacy job in the region.

His new role as a work broker is part of the Wurreker Strategy, which addresses the training needs and aspirations of Koorie people.

"I enjoy working with the younger people because, you know, I'm still young myself... and I'm not far off some of the issues that I've been faced with and some of the struggles that I've come up against.

"I like to think that I know what they're going through," he says.

He works across south west Victoria; from Geelong to Portland, across to Hamilton.

"Part of my role is to go out to the various communities in the south west region and listen to them in terms of what they want run in regards to training and what employment options can we make or what pathways we can create."

Mr Hunter's ancestors are the Bardi people from the Kimberley region in Western Australia.

He teaches and performs Aboriginal dance and is a strong believer in the importance of young Indigenous people connecting with their culture.

"It played a significant role in my life."

Enhancing his cultural identity and discovering his identity helped get him through his somewhat troubled teenage years.

"Being 12-years-old and vulnerable and I believe I was classed as 'at risk' at that stage, if I didn't have those people around me to teach me that and show me the dance and pass on that knowledge to me, I think I could've slipped even further.

"I was at a stage where I did go to court, and I was stuck in the justice system for a bit," he says.

The inspiring and dedicated young individual says the most important thing is passing on what he's learnt to his two sons.

Mr Hunter says he'll use the $5,000 grant from the award to further his education and hopes to one day complete a psychology degree.